Chaos
by SamanthaRose
Summary: Things are going very wrong in the Super Smash Brothers world... we're under attack by strange creatures! And why are people... dying?
1. Chapter 1

The sun was shining in through her window brightly, indicating that she had woken later in the day than she had intended, but none the less, the brightness brought a smile to her face. 

Moving to the window, Princess Zelda threw the curtains open, followed by the window, leaning out to look down at the world below. The sun hadn't quite reached the height of it's travel across the sky, so it wasn't quite midday... still plenty of time left for travelling.

She dressed herself in her usual white and purple dress, smoothing down her skirts and fixing her hair before heading down the stairs and out the door into the street outside. People on the streets greeted her in the usual way...

Indeed, everything was as it should be today, wasn't it? The same as yesterday and all the days before it.

Existing as she did in this world, she didn't even seem to mind that every day passed very much the same. They all woke, they did their daily routine, sometimes heading to the Arena for fun to watch some friendly battles. They all went to sleep in the evening, and woke the next morning to do it all over again.

As long as everything remained the same, there was nothing to worry about.

"Good afternoon, Princess." A familiar voice said behind her, making her turn. She offered a bright smile to the young man there, and a polite bow of her head. 

"Good afternoon, Link. I seem to have overslept."

"Well, we all know you need your beauty sleep." He said with a friendly grin, and she replied with a laugh. He offered her his arm, and she took it, the two of them wandering down the street towards the market. "It's a nice day."

"Most days here are nice, aren't they?" She asked, looking at him curiously. Link shrugged, then nodded. 

"Yeah, I suppose you're right about that."

"Oh! Look at that vendor, and the silk he's selling! It's lovely, isn't it?" Zelda unattached herself from Link and hurried to the kiosk, leaving him to linger where they had been standing, a chuckle escaping him. 

"No matter how much time passes, princess, you're always such a child about these things. So excited over little things..." He murmured to himself, looking up at the sunny, cloudless sky again. 

"Hello there, Link!" A female voice cried out to him, and he blinked, turning towards the source of it. A young, red haired girl waved cheerfully from a nearby booth, and he rubbed the back of his head slightly before walking towards her, managing a smile.

"Hey... Malon! How's it going?" He asked, trying not to grimace as she hurried out from behind the booth to hug him. 

"It's going great! Our sales are through the roof today, and the streets are more crowded than usual, did you notice? I wonder if something's going on..." She tilted her head to the side as she smiled up at him, and he smiled in return, looking over his shoulder at the kiosk where Zelda was still browsing through silk.

"Er... yeah." He offered in an attempt at a reply, and Malon continued to chatter at him. He continued to watch Zelda for a moment, then turned back to look at Malon, nodding at something she had asked him without really hearing what it had been. She continued to talk for another long moment, then a scream from down the street caught his attention, his hand immediatly going to the Master Sword.

"LINK!" Zelda shouted, and without hesitation, he rushed to her side, sword drawn. "Look!"

Down the street, something black and massive stood on the remains of a kiosk, it's head out of proportion with it's body, and something both feline and simian in the way it held itself. Link frowned deeply...

He had never seen a creature such as this before, had he? Then why did it feel so familiar?

"Stay here, I'll get it." He said, hurrying towards the creature with sword and shield ready. Zelda, despite what he had said, hurried along behind him.

"You don't even know what it is! You... " She stopped, staring at the people lying in the street near the creature's feet. "... Link, what's going on? What's wrong with those people? Why aren't they..."

"Why aren't they turning into trophies?" Link finished for her quietly, stopping in his tracks. "Why are they... why are they bleeding? Why are they dying?"

He clenched his jaw, hefting his sword and letting out a shout as he rushed towards the creature standing over the bodies in the street. Zelda shouted for him to stop, but knew it was no use. Link had never been one to listen to her... Especially when people were hurt.

"Damn you, having to play hero." She hissed, closing her eyes and beginning to concentrate.

It wasn't often that he was woken from slumber by the voice of Palutena, but since it was the first thing he heard this morning, Pit found himself coming rather quickly to his senses, rubbing his eyes hastily as he scurried out of his bed. 

"Yes, my goddess!" He cried, kneeling at the edge of his bed and averting his eyes as Palutena appeared above him.

"Something terrible is happening, Pit." Her voice was full of concern, and the young angel looked up, frowning. The goddess' face was also riddled with emotion, and she had her arms wrapped about herself in worry. "There are creatures of many types appearing in the lands below. I fear something has changed our world, and the people in it... there are people dying, Pit."

Pit stared up at her in disbelief for a long moment, wetting his lips and continuing to frown. It took him awhile to find his voice, but he finally managed to ask, increduously; "Dying?"

"Yes... these creatures seem to have the ability to destroy the lives of those in this world utterly... I fear this may be the end of us unless we intevene. I need you to go, Pit, go down and help."

"Of course! Right away!"

Palutena smiled gently at him, holding out her hand. In it appeared a double bladed weapon, which he accepted with a gracious thank you, leaping to his feet.

He startled when she reached out a hand, smoothing down his shaggy brown hair, a flush creeping into his cheeks. 

"I have faith in you, Pit. Please, be careful." She whispered to him, leaning down to kiss his forehead. The spot her lips touched tingled ever so slightly, and then the goddess' image disappeared, leaving Pit alone in his room.

"I won't let you down." The young angel vowed quietly, moving forward to hurry to the Gates of the Heavens. He tripped over the laces of his sandals, blushing furiously as he scrambled again to his feet, leaning down to lace them up properly. When he was finished, he straightened his toga and hurried to the Gates.

Link was beginning to grow frustrated... he tried to defeat the monster, and many times, struck it down, only to have it reform from a cloud of darkness. Was this creature indestructable? Who would send such a thing!

He looked over when someone moved to join him, his eyes widening in shock and surprise. 

"... you..." He muttered, and the figure's eyes turned up slightly as it smiled within the scarf wrapped about its face. 

"Let's fight together." The voice was slightly deeper than a normal woman's would be, and its body was feminine without the defining features of a woman, well toned muscles not hidden underneath the skintight fabric that wrapped about its body.

Link stared at Sheik for a moment, then nodded and smiled fondly, rushing forward towards the creature again.

"Hey!" A voice shouted at him from above, and he didn't look up as he began to attack the creature once more, Sheik's whip darting past him to pull the creature's legs out from underneath it. "You idiot, up here! Listen to me! There are THREE of these things... I have a feeling there's a connection between them and unless you destroy all three at the same time, you'll keep fighting forever!" The voice continued, Link looking up at it with irritation on his face. 

A small, imp-like creature was floating above him, a half destroyed mask over her face and her arms crossed beneath her breasts in irritation that matched Link's own. He growled softly, batting the creature's flailing tentacles away from himself and leaping back.

"Where are the others? Can you see them from up there?" He shouted back at her, and she nodded, pointing away from herself to where the others were. 

"Give me a moment, and I can bring them to you! Keep fighting!" She shouted in reply, closing her eyes. Link nodded, looking towards Sheik, who nodded as well. The two renewed their attack on the beast, giving the imp the time she needed to do whatever it was she was doing.

Pit could see a crowded market below, three dark spots marring the otherwise calm surface, and he narrowed his eyes as he swooped lower. He hovered above one of the dark creatures, taking his weapon in hand and drawing back a glowing blue string, an arrow forming. 

He aimed carefully, and just before he let the arrow fly, the creature suddenly dissolved, disappearing. So startled, he accidently let the arrow go anyway, crying out as it darted down towards the ground below. 

Luckily, the arrow hit the bare ground and shattered into blue sparks, making him sigh in relief. He looked around again, seeing that all three creatures were now in a large square that served as a market, so he headed in their direction.

Looking more carefully, Pit could see two other figures in the square below, fighting the three creatures valiantly. 

"I'm here to help!" he cried triumphantly as he flew down towards them, making the one, a young man in green, look up at him. In the second he stopped attacking, the creature before him took a swipe at him with its black tentacles surrounding its head, so Pit cried out in warning to the boy. 

Luckily, the boy was agile enough to flip backwards, out of the way...

The other figure, however, wasn't so lucky. She flew backwards, away from the creatures, crashing through a wooden kiosk sitting nearby and falling rather still amongst the rubble. Both Pit and the boy in green gasped, the young angel turning to the creatures with a growl.

"We have to destroy all three at the same time!" The young man in green shouted up at him, and Pit blinked, looking at the huge creatures. 

"... H-how!" He cried back, the man in green shaking his head. 

"We've got to figure something out!"

Pit flew up a little ways, then drew another arrow back, getting the right angle on the creatures below. If he could just convince the magical arrow to arc just the right way... he could hit all three at once! But would it be enough to kill them?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl who had been thrown into the kiosk stirring, rolling to her feet out of the rubble but remaining crouched on the ground. The young man in green hadn't noticed this yet, still slashing at the creatures, so Pit nodded, a plan coming into his head. He flew down to the girl, landing beside her and crouching down. 

She gazed at him from withing the scarf about her head with red eyes, pain flickering in them, but she managed a nod of greeting.

"Can you move?" 

"Of course." She said in a husky voice, standing slowly. He could tell she was wounded, and she pressed her hand briefly to her side before taking a breath and drawing herself into a defensive stance.

"The three of us can do this. If we each take one, we can defeat them at the same time. Can you do that?" Pit hoped she didn't take his question the wrong way... he was concerned for her health, not questioning her obvious abilities. She hesitated, then nodded, making some strange motions in the air.

A glow surrounded her, and she was suddenly holding a golden bow, a gleaming arrow in the string.

"Now?" She asked. Pit turned to look at the creatures, seeing that the other young man had managed to hold them off. He was now looking over his shoulder at the two, nodding at Pit, so the angel grinned, drawing back his own arrow.

"Now!" He cried. The young man in green leapt straight up into the air, holding his sword like a spear pointing straight down as he dropped down again, his sword stabbing into the creature's heart as the other two let their arrows fly.

With a howl, all three creatures dissolved at once, and their black particles, as well as their dark presence, disappated. The people of the village began to emerge from their hiding places, hurrying to gather the injured and the dead and get them out of the streets.

The imp creature floated down to land on the young man in green's shoulder as Pit turned to thank him, but the young man didn't seem to want a thank you...

Instead, he pushed past Pit and dropped to his knees on the ground beside the girl, who had collapsed silently behind them. Pit gasped again, hurrying to join the boy by her side.

"... oh no..." 

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself laying in an unfamiliar room, staring up at the ceiling. Beneath her, she could feel something soft... a bed, perhaps, and she spread the hand that lay at her side, touching the blankets beneath her as she groaned, not attempting to open her eyes any wider than they already were.

She felt... awful...

"She's awake!" Someone in the room cried, and there was suddenly a presence by the bed, someone taking her hand.

"Sheik?" Link's soft voice asked, and she turned her head towards the sound of his voice, murmuring his name. "You're alive... that's great!"

"Something makes me wish I wasn't." She managed a wheezy laugh, grimacing and pressing one hand to her side. "Did we do it? Are they dead?"

"They're gone, and no more have shown up around here since. Pit, however, tells me that there may be more of those things out there, in the world. And for a little while, you're not going to be able to use your magic, you took a pretty hard hit out there."

She groaned again, leaning back against the pillows. "So... I'm stuck this way for a bit, hm?" She muttered, and Link made a soft noise of affirmation. "Well, it could be worse."

Ike paused for a long moment on the small path leading through the forest, his senses straining. He could have sworn he heard something moving nearby, but determined it was either just an animal or his imagination. 

Putting his heavy sword up against his shoulder, he continued his walk, a slight smile touching his lips as he moved through the forest. It was a nice day... the sun was shining, there were no clouds in the sky, so he had nothing to complain about. He had decided to take a break from his routine, leaving the plains to wander about the forest for once. He was enjoying the shelter from the sun and the coolness of the air here...

Again, a short distance from him, he heard a noise, stopping short once more, his hand tightening around Aether's hilt.

"Who's there?" He called, not too loudly, but still loudly enough to be heard by anything that may have been lurking. "Show yourself!"

If it was an animal, the sound of his voice should frighten it away. If it was something else, he hoped he wouldn't have to use his sword on it.

Moving towards the source of the noise, Ike slowly reached out to part the bushes before him, taking in a slow breath. The scent of smoke and metal reached his nostrils, and he could feel heat radiating from something nearby, his heart beginning to pound. It most certainly wasn't an animal... and whatever it was might now be in danger.

Keeping his sword ready, Ike moved into the clearing of broken trees and vegetation beyond, looking at the wreckage of some sort of ship in front of him. It had crashed through the forest, leaving a trail of destruction until coming to rest against two trees too big to knock down, and the hatch was open and empty.

He almost breathed a sigh of relief... at least whoever it was that had been piloting the ship was out of it now. Of course, the person could possibly have been thrown out of it during the crash, or else jumped... He quickly turned to look around the immediate area, back towards the trail through the forest, but nothing caught his eye, nothing living.

Ike heard another noise similar to the one he had heard before entering the clearing, spinning to face the source of it... now, closer to it, it sounded almost like an animal whining. He moved slowly towards the crashed ship, holding his sword out in front of him, careful not to make any sudden movements, and at last, as he neared the edge of the ship, he saw someone trapped beneath it...

Holding a blaster that was aimed at his face. Teeth bared in a snarl, blood staining his muzzle, the figure had one hand pushing him up as the other clutched the blaster, both arms trembling. The figure's one good eye was narrowed at him, the other eye covered with a strange looking mechanical eyepatch. 

"Hold on." Ike said softly. "I can get you out of there."

The figure growled, the arm he held himself up with finally giving out. As he collapsed onto the ground, his ears flattened back and he began to use both hands to attempt to drag himself out from under the ship.

"Stop! You're going to hurt yourself more than you already are..." Ike stared at him for a moment before moving foward to help, curious about the blood and wondering why the person hadn't become a trophy already. He looked at the ship, circling around it and trying to figure out the best way to lift it off of the poor man's legs. He finally settled for grabbing a large log and rolling it over towards the ship. He then rolled a large rock over, placing one end of the log underneath the ship. He put the rock under the log, taking a deep breath. 

"I'm going to lift it! Crawl out from under it when you can, alright?" He called out, reaching up to put both hands on the log. Once he had a firm hold in it, he steeled himself, put all of his weight into it, and pulled down.


	2. Chapter 2

Once the log was far enough down, Ike shifted his weight and began to push down on it, listening to the creak of the metal as the ship moved against the trees it had crashed into. He heard a soft yelp, followed by scrabbling, sweat beading on his forehead.

"... I can't... hold it much longer!" He called, and a soft voice responded to him, more a growl than anything.

"I'm free."

Ike breathed a soft sigh of relief, quickly releasing the log and leaping back, watching the ship crash back down to the ground and lay smoldering. He hurried to check on the man who had been trapped underneath it, skidding to a halt when he saw that the gun was once more pointed at him.

Panting, kneeling on the ground, one arm braced against it for support, the wolf-like figure Ike had just rescued stared at him with his one good eye narrowed. Ike slowly raised his hands, sighing.

"You're very badly hurt." He said in a soft voice. "I can take you to safety, somewhere we can get you some medical help."

"You're not... carrying me around... like some fucking damsel... in distress!" The other man gasped, spitting blood on the ground, and Ike nodded slightly in reply.

"Alright then. If you wait here, I can hurry and bring help. I ask you, though, not to move. It might make things worse." Ike tilted his head to the side. "I am Ike... what's your name?"

The other paused for a long time, trembling, then he lowered the gun, moving the hand that held it to his torso. His eye never left Ike, but his body became much less tense, and at last he nodded.

"Wolf O'Donnell." He growled, and Ike nodded in return, half turning.

"Please wait here. I will go to the castle where I live and find help." He said, moving back towards the path he had taken to get to the clearing.

"Hurry." Wolf gasped, easing himself back down onto the ground. Swallowing slightly, Ike nodded again, taking off at a run. He was no more than fifty feet away when a terrible howl rose from the trees behind him, but he didn't dare pause.

The pain was too much for Wolf... the mournful howls continued as Ike rushed towards the castle.

His ears twitched and his red eyes flashed open as his head snapped to the side, towards the sound of the howling in the forest below. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Lucario drew in some of the Aura around him, and his eyes fluttered closed.

When he opened them again, they glowed brilliantly yellow, and he turned them to the forest to see what might be making such a terrible noise.

Someone was wounded, and badly... someone nearby.

Muscles in Lucario's legs coiled, and he easily launched himself off of the mountain top where he was standing, soaring gracefully through the air to land on the ground below.

As he landed, his eyes lost the yellow glow, turning to their normal red, and he swivelled his ears this way and that in an attempt to pinpoint the location of the wounded soul. As he began to move towards the forest, his feet made little noise on the ground, and he stretched out all his senses around him.

Footsteps, heavy footsteps, rushing away from the forest caught his attention, and he slid to a stop, bringing himself into a defensive position. Moments later, a young human man erupted from the trees, breath heavy as he stopped short, eyes wide, upon seeing Lucario standing there.

"Help!" He cried. "There's someone hurt, in the forest!"

Lucario was still for a moment, his red eyes once again closing. When he opened them, glowing yellow once more, he gazed upon the boy before him. There was none of the evil red glow around him that would have labled him the one to injure the person in the forest...

Nodding, the glow fading, the majestic pokemon looked the boy over.

"Show me the way." He rumbled.

Meanwhile, in another town across the world...

Falcon slid his drink back and forth between his hands with a sigh of agitation, staring down at the countertop. For him, the days passing, always the same, was beginning to weigh on him. As a bounty hunter and an F-Zero pilot, he found himself growing increasingly restless and edgy with so little to do these days. Even racing had lost its appeal... after all, one could only race so much before it got tiring and monotonous.

He picked his glass up and drained the contents, waving the bartender off when he was offered another and standing from the stool he had taken at the bar. He turned towards the door and walked towards it, nodding to a few of the tenants of the bar who waved farewell to him.

Outside, the dim light of the city was almost welcoming after the cool darkness of the bar he spent so much time in these days. He adjusted his gloves as he moved towards the Blue Falcon, tilting his head up towards the sky as a shadow began to darken it. He frowned slowly... the ship passing over the city was huge! He had never seen it before, nor anything like it in these parts. The hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end, and he stopped walking, taking in a slow breath.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar, blue clad woman exit a building across the street, turning his head to meet her eye. She looked nearly as concerned as he felt, and didn't hesitate before moving across the street to join him.

"What is it?" She asked in a pleasantly husky voice, and Falcon shrugged ever so slightly.

"That's a very good question, Ms. Aran." He murmured. "More importantly, what is it doing, hovering over the city this way?"

"I don't like it." Samus' fair face was marred by a frown, her lips pulled into a tight line.

"Something tells me it doesn't like us either. Look." He pointed upwards, where a dark figure had leapt off the side of the ship, and both he and Samus reached for their guns. Samus aimed hers upwards, eyes narrowed as she concentrated past the screams of people in the streets, but Falcon paused, eyes widening. "Wait..."

Samus glanced over at him, then looked upwards again, a gasp escaping her. Falcon was the first to react, rushing foward to where the figure was falling, but Samus was quite close on his heels.

Falcon reached the figure first, just in time to catch it before it hit the ground. He threw himself forward, into a roll, sheltering the figure as he did so, easily rolling to his feet again. Samus slid to a stop beside him, crouching to ease the fallen figure to the ground. She slid her eyes over it, taking in the mask, the singed cape and the sword clutched weakly in its hand, then looked up at Falcon again.

"... get to the Blue Falcon, now." Falcon said softly, his eyes still on the ship. "Just... run like you've never run before." Samus stood, staring at him in confusion, but as he turned to pick up the fallen figure, she saw flashes light up the sides and front of the ship as it opened fire on the city below.

The next thing she knew, Falcon had grabbed her arm and was steering her away at top speed, the figure clutched beneath his arm. She stumbled, then caught her footing and sped after him, managing to keep her balance easily though the ground was shaking from the impact of the shots being fired. A cry escaped her throat as a building nearby exploded in a shower of fire and shattered stone, and together, the two hunters rushed towards Falcon's racer.

"Are you sure we'll all-" She began, shouting over the explosions, her words cut off when Falcon grabbed her arm again, opening the hatch of the ship and shoving her and the figure he carried inside.

"Hold on!" He shouted, firing up the engine, closing the hatch and taking off. He quickly hit some buttons on the console in front of him, gritting his teeth and attempting to ignore the warmth of the woman pressed in beside him. Samus was busying herself checking on their other passenger, though she shot a glance at Falcon and looked worriedly out the glass front of the ship to the carnage happening around them.

"He's alive." Samus murmured. "I don't know what happened to him, but I'm sure he'll tell us when he wakes up." She didn't make an attempt to part the figure with his sword... the fact that he still had it after falling or being thrown from the ship was proof enough that it was as much an extension of him as her powersuit was of her.

"Just... keep as still as possible and forgive me in advance." Falcon muttered.

"Forgive you in ADVANCE? You should have asked for me to do that before you started man-handling me!" She shot back, glaring at him.

"Hey, I saved your life, Samus, so don't complain!" Falcon growled, suddenly turning the ship sharply on its side to make it between two buildings. Samus fell against him with a muffled "oof" but didn't reply otherwise, so he accepted with smugness that he had won the argument.

At last, they shot out of the city and away from the range of the massive ship above, Falcon's larger ship appearing on the horizon.

"We'll be a little less cramped and a little bit safer there... Hang on just a second." Falcon said softly. Samus was gazing out the glass, trying to see if the ship was following them at all, a frown still on her face.

"Something isn't right about this whole thing." She murmured. "Our unconcious friend back there is badly enough injured that he should have turned into a statue already. So why hasn't he?"

"I get the feeling there are an awful lot of people in our world right now asking the same thing." Falcon replied, pressing more buttons on the console to open the hold on the ship.


	3. Chapter 3

Once they were high enough up in the air, Falcon sat back in his seat, putting one hand to his eyes and rubbing them in a weary manner. Samus had taken their still unconscious passenger to lay on a softer surface than the floor of the racer, and was watching him quietly now.

For a long moment, neither Samus nor Falcon said a word, then Falcon exhaled slowly and stood, turning to look at her.

"Doug..." She murmured, and he let out a short laugh.

"Oh gods, you're using my first name... are you going to appologize to me for the last time we met?" He asked, looking at her with a tired smile. Samus blinked at him, color creeping into her cheeks slightly, and she shook her head, blonde pony-tail swinging.

"No. I was actually going to say that you owed ME an appology for the last time we met."

There was another period of silence, then Falcon smiled a little more, shaking his head.

"I'm not sorry." He muttered, turning away to look out the front window again. Samus opened her mouth to protest, but the passenger they had picked up made a soft noise and she turned to look at him.

"He's waking up..." She called to Falcon, watching the figure open his eyes.

The next moment happened so quickly, not even her reflexes could save her. His hand tightened on the sword he carried, his eyes opened wide, and he rolled into a crouching position, the sword swinging out to the side. His torn cloak swooped out behind him almost like wings, demon's wings... The blade caught the light, glinting as the figure glided forward across the metal floor of the ship.

Any cry that might have escaped Samus Aran was cut off as the blade sliced easily across the pale column of her throat...

Meanwhile, in the forest...

Lucario crouched before the figure lying on the ground, his eyes beginning to glow yellow once more as he held his hand out. Ike stood a few feet away, watching, his breath heavy from the run back to Wolf's body. He still had ahold of his huge sword, looking around him cautiously in case something else decided to go wrong.

Lucario looked over at him, then shook his head, ears drooping slightly.

"He's bleeding internally... without medical care, he will not survive, and there is only so much I can do for him. We need to move him."

"Move him where? We're pretty far from anywhere with medical facilities, and he expressly requested NOT to be moved about or carried around." Ike said, frowning slightly. "He was a little rude about it, actually."

"Well, he didn't request it of me, so I will carry him." The pokemon growled, reaching down to gingerly pick up the fallen form of Wolf O'Donnell, who had passed out in the time that Ike was gone searching for help. "Even with his weight, I will be able to run faster than you. Do you live nearby?"

"Yes, my home is near. I will head there and ask around to see if anyone knows what's going on in this world." He ran a hand through his blue hair and sighed. "Seems things are going a little mad. This man... this Wolf O'Donnell... should he not be a trophy by now?"

Lucario said nothing, turning away from Ike and nodding. He began to move quickly towards the exit of the woods, and Ike turned himself to return to the castle, lips pulled into a tight line.

Elsewhere, the chaos was continuing...

Link thanked the tavernkeeper quietly, stepping back to where the others were standing with a slight shake of his head. Pit looked anxious, Sheik was quiet and Midna was looking at him expectantly, her little arms folded and her legs crossed as she hovered in mid-air.

"It's worse than we thought." The Hylian kept his voice low as he spoke, as the tavern was rather crowded with those that were seeking a way to grow numb to the incident that had occured outside. "There are cities all over the place that are being hit, and there are people all over the world that are dying, like we saw today. Something has changed... something in our world has broken."

"What happens if we don't have the means to fix it, Link?" Sheik asked in her husky voice, her eyes darting around the immediate area as she spoke. Pit glanced at her and bit his lip.

"We have to try. Or at least, we have to find someone who knows what's going on, and figure out a way to stop it. If there is a way... we will fix this." Link looked around, then moved towards a table that had just been vacated, gesturing for the others to follow him. "All we can do right now is rest, eat something, and head out to see what we can do in other places."

"The Hero of Time, off to save the world again?" Midna purred, perching herself on Link's shoulder. The boy looked at her with a slight frown, shaking his head.

"I don't think the Hero of Time, nor the sword he carries is going to be enough this time. This is bigger... bigger than any of us. This is something... something unwordly, and it's going to take everything we have to fix it."

"Conceding defeat already?" The imp raised one eyebrow.

"We're not defeated... we're just stalled." Pit said softly. "But I'm sure we'll find something if we just ask... someone HAS to know what's happening. I would ask my goddess, but she... well, she didn't really tell me anything to begin with, just that the world was in danger."

"Helpful." Sheik muttered. Pit looked at her, frowning, and Link put his hand on the table between them.

"Fighting amongst ourselves won't help either." He said, smiling gently. "C'mon... we're all we've got, right? Let's stick together in this."

Sheik looked at Link, then over at Pit, nodding slowly before resuming her inspection of the people in the area around them. The chatter began to die away as her senses reached out, and she concentrated on searching for people who seemed... out of place. There were all types gathered inside right now, types that usually wouldn't be seen sitting down for a drink or a meal together, but these were indeed dire times. She saw brigands, theives and rogues sitting with wizards, nobles and fighters, all of them speaking with grave faces about what had happened in the town outside. She saw the tavernkeep talking with the town drunk whose face was just as grim as everyone elses... no doubt, this was the most sober he had been in a long time.

At the back of the tavern, her gaze slid to a man, a tall man, standing in a black cloak near the fire. He had his hood pulled up to hide his face, a greatsword strapped across his back, and he looked away from her just as her eyes fell on him. His wide shoulders tensed ever so slightly...

Sheik's red eyes narrowed. She blocked out the conversation that the boys and Midna were having, concentrating all of her senses on this man...

There was something terribly familiar about him. Something... terrible...

Her chair crashed to the floor as she stood, the people around her looking over in surprise, startled from their conversations. Link and Pit both looked up, blinking, and Midna floated up to eye level with her, looking stern.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked in her small, high voice, but Sheik simply pushed past her as the figure in the cloak swept quickly out of the room...

She couldn't lose him... she wouldn't.


	4. Chapter 4

"Samus!!" Falcon shouted, leaping from his seat.

The woman had stumbled back, pressing her hand to her throat, a terrible spluttering noise coming from her. The masked figure paused for just a second, then his eyes widened and he dropped his sword, managing to take a step back as the demon wings dropped back into the shape of his cloak.

Torn between keeping the ship under control and moving to assist Samus, Falcon made the decision to hastily land, turning his eyes to the world outside to search for a place to do so. There was an open field nearby, so he steered quickly towards it, glancing over his shoulder at Samus and their mysterious passenger, who was now beside the woman, attempting to help.

"You stay away from her! What were you thinking?!" Falcon shouted, bracing himself for a bumpy landing.

He had taken the ship in a little too quickly, so it crashed harder into the ground than he had originally intended for it to, and he instantly regretted it.

He may have done more damage to Samus than was already done...

Scrambling out of his seat, he hurried to crouch beside her fallen form, seeing the rigid way her limbs were held, the hand clutched to her throat, the blood washing down her front and bubbling past her lips. He spat out a string of curses, beginning to look around the cabin and ignoring the presence of the other person in there with them.

There was silence but for the sound of Samus struggling to breath and the sound of Falcon opening compartments. He began to mutter to himself, startling when a deep, deep voice rang out.

"What are you looking for?" It was slightly accented, and seemed far too deep to be coming from someone the size of the figure they had rescued. He turned his head sharply to look across Samus at the figure, seeing the glowing orb he held in his hands. "This?"

Falcon tensed, then looked down when Samus began to reach her hand out towards him. He looked again at the other figure, then nodded slowly.

"She's going to die..." He said with a growl in his voice. "She's going to die because of you."

He waited for the figure to say something, to deny it, to move, to do anything! The seconds went by like minutes, everything seemed to have slowed down...

Then the masked figure nodded slowly, lowering the glowing ball towards Samus, whose eyes widened once more. The orb plunged into her, the glow beginning to spread around her, light flowing up from her body and into the air. She arched her back, gasping as best she could past the blood, her eyes rolling up into her head and both hands clenching into fists. Falcon remained still at her side, unsure of what to do, unsure if she was in pain, if this was hurting or helping...

His eyes slid again to the masked figure, who was watching Samus calmly... but Falcon could swear he saw a flicker of regret in the figure's eyes as he watched.

...

...

Ike paused when he saw the ship flying above, sheilding his eyes from the sun as he watched it move far too quickly towards the ground. It landed roughly nearby...

Without hesitation, he moved towards it as quickly as he could, beginning to feel the exaustion creeping into his bones from both the running and the exertion of freeing Wolf. There was no smoke, so the ship wasn't in danger of exploding, and there wasn't any more fire in the forest, but he couldn't help worrying about the person inside.

With the way things were going today, he wouldn't be surprised if something was wrong...

It was terrible that he was right. As he approached, he saw the hatch of the ship open and a tall, well muscled man exit, looking around cautiously before heading back in. He returned with a young woman whose front was awash with blood, something that sent a jolt through Ike's body. A third figure followed them, staying in the mouth of the ship as the other two moved to the ground before it, not even flinching when the bloodied woman pulled out a pistol and pointed it at him.

Ike approached cautiously himself now, his hands well away from the sword he had strapped across his back. He had already had enough pistols pointed at him today... he didn't need to alarm these people anymore.

"Explain yourself..." The woman demanded in a husky voice, pressing her hand to her throat with a wince. "Why did you-"

"It was self defense." The third figure said in a deep voice, glowing eyes lowering slightly. "I had already been attacked on my own ship, knocked unconscious. I did not know where I was or who you were, it was simply a reaction."

"A reaction that could have cost her her life!" The first man shouted, his hand on the woman's arm in a defensive manner.

"Stand down." The woman said softly after a moment, lowering her pistol. "... I know for a fact, I would have done the same. He's obviously a warrior and his reflexes are trained, like mine. I can't hold it against him no matter how close I came to dying back there, Falcon. Besides... he also saved me."

"Returning the favor..." The masked figure said. "A life for a life, for I figure it was you who rescued me from those who took my ship."

"Who was it that did?" The woman asked, both her and the masked man spinning when Ike's foot came down on a fallen branch. The woman's pistol flashed out again, and the masked figure had a sword in his hand in an instant, the third man not far behind them, pulling himself into a defensive stance.

"I come in peace!" Ike's voice was very soft, and he raised his gloved hands to show them he held no weapon. The masked figure was eyeing Ragnell, the sword on his back, but he was the first to lower his blade, looking pointedly at the woman. She took a little longer to do the same, lifting her chin ever so slightly. "I don't suppose... any of you know what might be going on out there?"

"Out there?" The first man asked quietly, then looked back in the direction they came. "Oh, you mean with the world going insane? No... no clue."

"We barely escaped from a ship that was blasting the hell out of the city we were in." The woman replied, sliding her pistol back into it's place and walking slowly towards him. "You're covered in blood, and smoke."

"You're covered in blood too." Ike responded, gazing at her. "Is everyone alright?"

"We will be." The masked figure said softly, looking around. "It might perhaps be best if we rested, however. I have been handled rather roughly today, and the lady probably needs something to eat and a bed to sleep in. She's lost a considerable amount of blood."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"Um... how about we introduce ourselves, and then I can take you to my home? It's not far." Ike said softly. The others looked at him, then the woman nodded slowly.

"Samus Aran." She said shortly.

"I am Captain Falcon... Falcon is fine, however." The first man said, looking towards the masked figure. Ike followed his gaze, realizing that the two of them didn't know this persons name either...

The masked figure bowed ever so slightly.

"I am Metaknight... and the ship that attacked that city you were in, regrettably, is my own. But as you saw, I was not on board when it began it's attack. I would never use the Halberd for such things." He said in his deep voice, lowering his eyes again.

"I believe you." Samus replied, looking at Ike. "You said your home is not far?"

"Yes. It's just past this field, in fact. I live in a castle there with others. I was heading there to see about finding help for the injured. I came across another ship crash in the woods while taking a walk, and the man there was gravely injured. Someone has taken him to a town with proper medical facilities, but my home has enough for us all to rest and replenish ourselves." Ike said in response, the woman nodding.

"Good." She nodded once more, then Falcon reached out, catching her as she fell backwards, eyes rolling up in her head.


End file.
